NBA Live News sorted by date

SI.com: Kevin Durant Tells A Mavs Fan: 'Watch the F--king Game and Shut the F--k Up'

Warriors Kevin Durant told off a heckler who was sitting courtside at the Mavericks game in Dallas on Saturday, reports TMZ.

Durant told the fan during the first quarter to, "Watch the f------ game and shut the f--- up."

A fan sitting near the incident told TMZ that the heckler was using typical NBA fan trash talk and called Durant names. According to the fan, the heckler didn't say anything that crossed a line. Durant walked over and cussed the guy out.

After going 2-1 on Friday to extend its current winning run to 31-11, Three at 3 is back with your Monday night NBA bets.

1. Boston Celtics at Charlotte Hornets (+3)

7:00 pm ET

The 98-86 final score in the Celtics' loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday doesn't quite convey how poorly they played. Simply put, Boston was embarrassed by the Jazz on its home court. For the second time in five nights, Brad Stevens's team shot under 40% from the floor. The Celtics are still struggling to figure things out offensively--Kyrie Irving can't be counted on to bail them out every night, like he did against the Toronto Raptors on Friday--and they're going to need to get hot soon.

SI.com: LeBron James Talks Kyrie Irving Trade Details, Returning to Cleveland as Member of Lakers

In an interview with Joe Vardon of The Athletic, LeBron James dished on the conversation he had with Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman before Kyrie Irving was traded to the Celtics last year, as well as what type of reception he expects in his return to Cleveland on Wednesday as a Laker.

According to James and others who Vardon spoke with, Altman told James on Aug. 22, 2017 he would not trade Irving to the Celtics after James talked with the general manger on the phone and expressed his desire to not move Irving. News of the deal to Boston was reported just minutes after the two finished their conversation, which was organized by then-Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue, who was in California like James was at the time.

The Wizards are reportedly making all players available in trade discussions, including All-Star guards John Wall and Bradley Beal, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Per Wojnarowski, Washington is not actively shopping either member of its star backcourt and prefers to "reshape the team" around the pair. However, offloading other members of the roster has been difficult due to poor play that's ultimately limited their trade value. Forwards Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre, specifically, have been garnered "minimal interest" among teams.

The Wizards are currently 5-11, fourth place in the Southeast Division.

Wojnarowski additionally reports that Wall and Beal were held out of past discussions surrounding potential deals for Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler.

With apologies to Kristaps Porzingis, you're not the only one sick of hearing basketball players labeled as "unicorns." There is some value and truth to the usage of the term as a means of expressing the sentiment "I've never seen anyone with those specific physical traits play basketball in this particular way before." By that definition, unicorns can take on all shapes and sizes, and Boban Marjanovic is as much a unicorn as Nate Robinson. That's an acceptable designation that can be applied responsibly, one, which helps avoid the trap of creating expectations. With that established, Bol Bol, Oregon's skilled 7'3" freshman and likely one-and-done for the 2019 NBA draft, is absolutely a unicorn.

The NBA's leading storyline went from a simmer to a full-blown boil on Nov. 12 when a turnover at the end of regulation led to DEFCON 1 in Golden State. Draymond Green's spat with Kevin Durant brought the underlying tensions of the Warriors' quest for a three-peat to the surface, reminding us all of the biggest question currently surrounding the league: is this Kevin Durant's final year in Golden State?

We've spent the past week prognosticating on KD's future, and will probably spend the entire 2018-19 season doing the same. Barring a historic implosion or rotten injury luck, Golden State should cruise to their fourth title in five years this season.

SI.com: LeBron James Scores Season-High 51 Points, Defeats Heat for First Time Since Leaving Miami

MIAMI -- LeBron James scored 51 points against his former club and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat 113-97 on Sunday night.

James had 19 points in the first quarter to set the tone, the Lakers led by as many as 21 and never trailed.

The 51 points were a season-high for James, and the most he's scored against Miami; he had 47 against the Heat twice. His last shot was a 32-footer with 16 seconds left, capping the 13th 50-point game of his career--including playoffs--and he threw the ball skyward at midcourt when time expired.

SAN ANTONIO -- Kevin Durant and Draymond Green sat just a locker stall away from one another on the Golden State Warriors' Texas trip from hell. A few days after an emotional blowup in Los Angeles that caught the entire league's attention and caused many to speculate about their future, there the All-Star teammates were prior to Sunday night's latest setback doing exactly what the basketball world thought they would be doing.

Well, not exactly.

Instead of the iciness that many predicted following the ugly episode on Monday night, Durant and Green found themselves having the same conversation that many sports fans were having all across the country: They were discussing Alex Smith's gruesome leg injury during Sunday's game between the Washington Redskins and Houston Texans.

SI.com: LeBron's Eye-Opening Performance in Miami a Reminder of What James, Lakers Are Capable of

It wasn't so long ago that Lakers forward LeBron James was running alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat. From 2010-2014, the trio had its way with any competition that happened to step on the American Airlines Arena's court. When James departed for the Cavaliers in the summer of 2014, he maintained his statistical dominance at the venue over the four-year span, but came up on the losing end each of his four visits. So Los Angeles' 113-97 win over the Heat on Sunday night was a sort of triumph for James in itself.

ESPN.com: LeBron James scores 51 in first win at Miami since 2014 departure

MIAMI -- LeBron James scored 51 points Sunday in the Los Angeles Lakers' 113-97 win over the Miami Heat, marking James' first victory in Miami since leaving the Heat franchise in 2014.

He also became just the fifth player in league history to score 50-plus points with three different franchises.

"(My) environment is a basketball and a hoop," James said when asked how playing against his former team factored into his performance. "That's my environment, that's my comfort zone. But it's always great to be here, come back here and see a lot of familiar faces.

The Kings front office is taking issue with how coach Dave Joerger is distributing minutes among the team's younger players like Marvin Bagley III, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports.

Sacramento brass were expecting the team to focus more on developing some of its younger players this season, but Joerger's win-now approach that has him playing more veterans could lead to his dismissal from the team.

Joerger is in his third season with the Kings and is under contract through 2019-20. Since the 2006-07 season, the Kings have had nine different coaches lead them for at least 20 games, counting Joerger.

Warriors owner Joe Lacob said that Golden State is "not choosing anybody over anybody" in the wake of a recent tiff between star forwards Kevin Durant and Draymond Green during an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle's Al Saracevic.

Toward the end of Monday's loss against the Clippers, Green and Durant got into an argument on the sideline which carried into the locker room after the game. Green reportedly cursed out Durant several times and dared him to leave the Warriors, a rant which earned him a one-game suspension.

Jimmy Butler's fourth game as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers was one for the history books.

Butler keyed a game-winning sequence in the final moments of Philadelphia's 122-119 overtime win over the Hornets on Saturday. The four-time All-Star first swatted away Charlotte guard Kemba Walker's go-ahead attempt, then saved the ball by throwing it back in-bounds to a teammate.

Following a timeout, on the ensuing possession, Butler was isolated at the top of the three-point arc. As the seconds ticked away, he pulled up from the right side of the arc and buried a go-ahead trey, giving the Sixers a three-point lead with 0.

Walker outscored all of his teammates combined en route to the 122-119 loss. The guard put up 16 points alone in the third quarter.

The Hornets and Sixers battled back and forth all night, and Walker put up a big bank-shot three-pointer to give Charlotte a lead late down the stretch.

However, the Hornet's defeat came after Jimmy Butler swatted away Walker's go-ahead attempt and threw it back in-bounds to a teammate. Following a timeout, Butler sinked a three-pointer with less than one second left in overtime to secure the Sixers' victory.

SI.com: Report: Draymond Green Likely to Miss Two Games With Toe Sprain

Warriors forward Draymond Green will be out vs. the Mavericks on Saturday per The Athletic's Anthony Slater, likely to miss Golden State's matchup with the Spurs on Sunday as well. Green is currently battling a toe sprain that head coach Steve Kerr said is "lingering."

Saturday's contest in Dallas will be the fourth game missed by Green since Nov. 8. In addition to his toe injury, Green was suspended one game by the Warriors for a verbal confrontation with Kevin Durant on Monday night.

Golden State enters Saturday losing two of its last three including a 21-point loss to the Rockets on Thursday.

NBA Matchup Insights sorted by time

SLC Dunk: Can the Utah Jazz take advantage of the Indiana Pacers without Oladipo?

When: 5:00 p.m. MT, Monday Nov. 19

Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indiana, IN

TV: AT&T SportsNet, NBA League Pass

Radio: 1280AM/97.5 FM

<strong>Injuries:</strong>

Victor Oladipo - Sore Right Knee - OUT

<strong>Mandatory Highlight</strong><strong>Ground Rules</strong>

Welcome to the SLC Dunk Game Thread.

Dunkers know how this thing works, but for you lurkers ready to make the jump to Dunker, we have a few guidelines. Remember to follow our community guidelines(no swearing, trolling, excessive use of Jerry Sloan's name in vain, no personal attacks, no debates about Utah liquor laws, etc.

Ariza is supposed to return tonight from his personal matter, which begs the question what head coach Igor Kokoskov will do. Isaiah Canaan staying in the starting lineup, or not? Personally, I don't think so, especially after Bridges ' strong play as of late. Ayton vs. Embiid is going to be fun, but it might be a rude awakening for the Suns' No. 1 overall pick. I expect Embiid to have his way, and Phoenix will have to stop everyone else in order to win.

Mavs Moneyball: 3 things to watch for as the Mavericks clash with the Grizzlies

The Dallas Mavericks (7-8) are coming off a nail biting win against the Golden State Warriors Saturday night and are trying to claw their way back to .500 but are facing a stiff test against the Memphis Grizzlies (10-5).

Both of the Southwest division foes selected in the top five of the NBA lottery last season, and while the Mavericks are benefitting from prized rookie Luka Doncic, the Grizzlies have been rejuvenated with the good health of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol.

Both teams are playing well as of late, and both squads will be looking to notch a valuable division win.

New Orleans has looked like a different team last 5 games with Jrue and Anthony both feeling it and the Pelicans have an extra day of rest over the road weary Spurs. S.A. did beat GW last night but the warriors are a shell of themselves so I'm not looking much into that. I like New Orleans -7.5.

The Denver Nuggets are going to be in for a tough match up after a 10 point defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans.

They will travel to Milwaukee as they try to find a way to slow down the Greek Freak and get back to their winning ways. As of right now, the Nuggets are ranked sixth in the Western Conference with a 10-6 win loss record.

With all of this in mind, what are the things to watch for in this Eastern Conference foe vs. Western Conference foe match up which could be the key to Denver turning the ship around?

The Phoenix Suns continue to stink and 4 out of 5 of their last games have been lost by 15 points or more and I think Philadelphia is more than capable to cover this 12 points spread.The Philadelphia 76ers are slowly starting to come together with Jimmy Butler getting more involved with the offense. I don't enjoy laying double-digit chalk in the NBA, but Philly is the only option here in this matchup with the current form of the Phoenix Suns. Betting Pick: Philadelphia -12

The Pacers are most likely without their leader in Oladipo who is currently listed as doubtful, with that being said, the Jazz are starting to heat up and they are coming off a big road win over the Celtics so I like their chances here...especially if Oladipo isn't in the lineup tonight. Betting Prediction: Utah -3

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